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NUS or NTU business school: which is better?

30 January 2010 blogpastor 1 Comment

I asked an on-line friend, Darryl Chen, his opinion on which business school is better: the National University of Singapore or the Nanyang Technological University? This is his comprehensive and well written reply. If you have any opinions to add, feel free to add your 2 cents worth…

“Hi Pastor Kenny,

Anyhow, yes I did go to NUS Business School. Here’s my personal & unbiased(as much as possible) opinion about both schools….My feel about NTU is that it offers a more technical(because they start specialising in the 2nd year) grounded type of approach toward business education, whilst NUS tends to offer a more generic strategic(because they only start specialising in the 3rd year) type of approach. The good thing about NTU is that it offers direct honours to those who qualify, i.e. they don’t have to spend an extra year just to get their honours, whilst NUS has its students(those that qualify) spend one year on academic research to come out with a thesis to be awarded honours. Qualification is based on attainment of a certain GPA(grade point average, maximum 4) or CAP(cumulative average points, maximum 5). NTU uses the former whilst NUS uses the latter. However, I’m not sure if there has been changes in the systems in either schools since I have left NUS for about 4 years coming already. (Whoa! I didn’t know it was THAT long ago!)

I do not think that employers in Singapore today favour NUS over NTU, or vice versa. I verified this with a couple of my HR colleagues as well. From personal experience, when I was hiring 2 graduate interns in my job 2 years ago, I did meet with some NUS and NTU business graduates. My opinion from the employer side of the table, based on those interviews, was that the NUS students were more able to handle themselves in a professional manner and their responses to my questions tended to be slanted more “big-picture”. The NTU students, on the other hand, tended to be more reserved and did not leave as strong an impression as the NUS students. I’d like to think that this is an unbiased opinion, because my manager agreed with my assessment as well, and she’s from NTU. (Hahaha….)

But having said that, I don’t think either school is stronger than the other….they just offer different approaches to business studies. Your son should go with his heart and he’ll be fine. But just out of curiosity, did your son also consider SMU? I understand they offer a very good business program as well and based on the few SMU graduates I know, I’ve been quite impressed and I also heard good feedback about the program being offered there, although they do tend to be slightly pricier than NUS/NTU.

As for becoming CFA, I don’t think going to either school would aid or hinder him from getting that qualification. It shouldn’t, since CFA is a professional qualification and it is strictly based on a seperate set of coursework to be done, and I believe either NUS or NTU would give him the appropriate grounding. I always think that its most important to enjoy yourself while studying because that’s when you won’t drag your feet to school and you’d avail yourself to be receive whatever your professor has to impart. So, go with the heart….that’s what I say….

Thanks for writing. Hear from you again and see you around soon…

Cheers,
Darryl

p.s. your son should do well in Uni….i have very high esteem for people who go from the poly into university because they’re very hardworking people yet humble and capable. I always enjoy working with them in my uni days.”

(Re-posted from old blogpastor file dated 9th May 2007 for the benefit of those applying for university entry next month)

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Eating the flesh of Joseph Prince

27 November 2009 blogpastor 15 Comments

(This post is re-published so that other citations made elsewhere in the web in reference to this post can be read in its full and proper context. I have also added related posts that I think are helpful for further reading.)

Y Joeph Prince preaching es I have descended to the tabloid sewers for the title of this post. No this is not a post about new covenant cannibalism. But would you have taken a second look if the title were, “Dear pastors and preachers….” or “what pastors and preachers can learn from Joseph Prince”? Make no bones about it, I took this from the cliched analogy of eating the flesh and leaving the bones aside, when people are advised not to throw away the whole package just because of something they are doubtful about, but to take what is edible and edifying and discard what is personally indigestible.

Joseph Prince’s “Destined to reign”

Dr Gordon Wong who is the Bishop William F Oldham Professor of Old Testament at Trinity Theological College and an ordained minister of the Methodist Church in Singapore, had written a review of Joseph Prince’s book. On the whole it was positive though there were a few concerns he had. But he had gracious and good things to say about Joseph Prince’s teaching on grace. To read his whole review, go HERE. Each pastor and preacher has to discern for himself what he can “eat” of Joseph Prince’s teaching on grace and law.

Joseph Prince’s preaching

But it is in methodology, not theology, that is the focus of my post, in particular, preaching and teaching the Word. Many would agree with me that the magnetic attraction of New Creation Church is Joseph Prince and his preaching. Every Sunday can be a hassle because of the parking; and the queueing and the overflow video rooms, and yet people turn up in droves. The worship and music is equal to many other megachurches. My conclusion is that what stands out is his anointed, interesting and liberating preaching of grace.

More indicatives and much less imperatives

There are at least two things we can learn from JP as pastors and preachers. I think the first is that we need to preach more sermons in the indicatives and less in the imperatives. Too many sermons in our pulpits focus on the ‘what we must do’ (imperatives) rather than ‘who Christ is and what he has done for us’(indicatives). We assume that the foundations of understanding of the gospel have already been laid and that people see how those liberating truths are linked with our everyday struggles and temptations. But this is such a fatal assumption. We do not need to preach on these, we think, so we concentrate on the imperatives: the what, whys, and especially the hows of all the demands and commands of the word of God. So people get an overdose of what is required of them, and constant reminders of what they often fail to do and live up to. End result: sense of defeat, failure, feeling hypocritical, discouragement, and frustration about living out the faith.

The tragedy is that in some quarters they like it when the preaching is tough on the hearer and brings him to deep remorse and self-loathe. Yes give it to us preacher, we deserve a good forty minus one scourging! Such an approach is just self-defeating and unknowingly pastors and preachers are creating a performance and failure mentality in the congregation. The members constantly feel joyless, defeated, frustrated, disillusioned and the happy Christian life seems a mirage in a spiritual desert, because they are reminded every week that they are not up to God’s standard.

We can eat the flesh of Joseph Prince and preach more sermons that exalt who God is and what he has done for us, and what we have and are as a result of our faith in Him. How about three messages a month that is predominantly ‘indicative’ and one that is ‘imperative’; more promises and less commands? Do this to redress old imbalances slanted towards ‘imperatives’. To get more clarity about the indicatives and imperatives of preaching read an extract from the professor of preaching from Fuller Seminary, Ian Pitt Watson. Go HERE to a previous post I wrote in Jan 2008 and re-published recently.

Inspire faith, hope and love

The second thing we can do is to deliberately seek to inspire faith, hope and love in our preaching. Joseph Prince knows the audience well and he is keenly aware of what they need. I remember a few pastors asking one of our friends husband why he attends New Creation Church, and he gave us an lightning bolt of an answer. He said, “I’ll be frank with you guys, so don’t get offended. Do you know how torturous it is sit through the sermons you all preach. Every time I hear a sermon, I feel the worse for it, more discouraged and defeated and a failure. I work through the week and am so stressed and discouraged and worried over my job challenges and instead of getting encouraged, you guys give me greater discouragement. When I go to NCC, every week I get uplifted, inspired and more hopeful.”

Jesus himself understood the multitudes and he too often preached to inspire hope and faith. His toughest messages were reserved for the people steeped in hypocrisy, but when he speaks to the common man, he preached hope, solutions, encouragement of a kingdom and God of forgiveness, unconditional fatherly love, provision, kindness, peace and joy.

Eat the flesh of Joseph Prince and go and do likewise: go inspire faith and hope in God especially in these times of bleak, dismal future. One way we can catch the essence is to read and listen to his stuff with an eye to his methodology. Read his daily devotional which gives that constant reminder of what is needed for the congregation in terms of its encouraging slant. Too many of us are too analytical and major on analyzing the problems and focus too little on the Great Solution, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the indicatives of preaching.

Be yourself but do not ignore underlying principles

Of course each preacher is unique and has his own style, substance and strengths. There is only one Rony Tan; one Lawrence Khong; one Kong Hee and one Joseph Prince. And there is only one unique YOU. What we can do is to see the underlying principles at work in this transformational model of preaching and apply them diligently and discerningly, and serve out the Word in our own differing capacities, styles and strengths.

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Gospel, theology and story, Pastoral ministry, Singapore churches Law & Gospel, pastors, Preaching, teaching

Singapore churches are preaching the half gospel

22 November 2009 blogpastor 15 Comments

Lord anoint your servants to preach the good news of Jesus I find Michael Horton’s books invigorating. I have read his “Putting the Amazing Back into Grace” and “Power Religion” of which I would warmly commend the former. But I have not read his more recent books titled Christless Christianity and the Gospel-Driven Life but they should be thought provoking stuff.Michael is currently the professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary in Escondido, California, and the author of many books. Recently he was interviewed by Mark Galli from Christianity Today.

I am posting excerpts from this interview on some issues raised in these recent books to strengthen my claims that preaching in Singapore is too man-centered and imperative-driven and needs to return to being God-centered and indicative-driven or gospel-driven. What people have been receiving is a half gospel. The interview will clarify what I mean.

Here are some excerpts from there:

ARE OUR SERMONS IN CHURCHES TODAY CHRISTLESS:

What is at the core of the temptation to practice a Christless Christianity?

When the emphasis becomes human-centered rather than God-centered. In more conservative contexts, you hear it as exhortation: “These are God’s commandments. The culture is slipping away from us. We have to recover it, and you play a role. Is your life matching up to what God calls us to?” Of course there is a place for that, but it seems to be the dominant emphasis.

Then there is the therapeutic approach: “You can be happier if you follow God’s principles.” All of this is said with a smile, but it’s still imperative. It’s still about techniques and principles for you to follow in order to have your best life now.

In both cases, it’s law rather than gospel. I don’t even know when I walk into a church that says it’s Bible-believing that I’m actually going to hear an exposition of Scripture with Christ at the center, or whether I’m going to hear about how I should “dare to be a Daniel.” The question is not whether we have imperatives in Scripture. The question is whether the imperatives are all we are getting, because people assume we already know the gospel—and we don’t.

But aren’t many churches doing good preaching about how to improve your marriage, transform your life, and serve the poor?

The question is whether this is the Good News. There is nothing wrong with law, but law isn’t gospel. The gospel isn’t “Follow Jesus’ example” or “Transform your life” or “How to raise good children.” The gospel is: Jesus Christ came to save sinners—even bad parents, even lousy followers of Jesus, which we all are on our best days. All of the emphasis falls on “What would Jesus do?” rather than “What has Jesus done?”

Why is this such a temptation for the church?

It’s our default setting. No one has to be taught to trust in themselves. No one has to be taught that what you experience inside yourself is more authoritative than what comes to you externally, even if it comes from God. Since the Fall, it has been part of our character to look within ourselves. And it is part of our inherent Pelagianism to think we can save ourselves by following the right instructions.

In such a therapeutic, pragmatic, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps society as ours, the message of God having to do all the work in saving us comes as an offensive shot at our egos. In this culture, religion is all about being good, about the horizontal, about loving God and neighbor. All of that is the fruit of the gospel. The gospel has nothing to do with what I do. The gospel is entirely a message about what someone else has done not only for me but also for the renewal of the whole creation.

ON WHATS A GOSPEL-DRIVEN LIFE (IS HE TAKING A DIG AT THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE?):

What specifically do you mean by “a gospel-driven life”?

Because I live in San Diego, I think of a sailboat decked out with all of the latest equipment that tells you where you are and where you need to be. It plots your course, but it’s a sailboat, so you need wind in your sails. You start out, and it’s a beautiful day with wind in your sails. You’re out in the middle of the ocean when the wind dies down. You’re just sitting there dead calm. And your radio tells you that a hurricane is approaching. But all of your sophisticated equipment will not be able to get you to safety. What you need is wind in your sails.

A lot of Christians, especially people who have had dramatic conversion experiences, go sailing out of the harbor with wind in their sails. They are so confident in Christ and what he has done for their salvation, and that gospel wind is in their sails. Yet after two years, they have heard just one imperative after another. They have lots of course plotting, lots of books on how to do this and that. They’ve read every manual on spiritual disciplines. They have heard their pastor tell them they need to pray more, to read the Bible more, to evangelize more. Now they are dead in the water. There’s no wind in the sails.

Paul calls the gospel “the power of God unto salvation,” and I don’t think he meant the power of God just unto conversion. The gospel remains the power of God unto salvation until we are glorified. Calvin once said we need the gospel preached to us every week, and the Lord’s Supper to ratify that promise, because we are partly unbelievers until we die.

‘Paul calls the gospel “the power of God unto salvation,” and I don’t think he meant the power of God just unto conversion.

In The Gospel-Driven Life you use news as a metaphor. Why?

I stole it from the apostles! Their dominant metaphor for the gospel message is “good news.” The content is that God has done all the saving, no thanks to us. Someone asked Martin Luther what we contribute to salvation, and he said, “Sin and resistance!”

The gospel is not even my conversion experience. If somebody asks me what the gospel is, I’m not going to talk about me; I’m going to talk about Christ. All of the testimonies we find from the apostles’ lips are not testimonies about what happened in their hearts. They are testimonies about what happened in history when God saved his people from their sins. That’s the gospel. Although the gospel makes all sorts of things happen inside of me and gives me the fruit of the Spirit, the gospel itself is always an external word that comes to me announcing that someone else in history has accomplished my salvation for me.

Someone comes with instructions and says, “Here’s what your life could be like if you do x, y, or z.” Good news is, “Let me tell you what has happened!” The gospel is not good instructions, not a good idea, and not good advice. The gospel is an announcement of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

So what is the first step in living a gospel-driven life?

Become a recipient again. Mary and Martha, the two sisters and disciples of Jesus, had different relationships with Jesus. Martha busied herself with many tasks, and she was getting mad at Mary for making her do all the work. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning from him. Jesus rebuked Martha for criticizing her sister and said Mary had chosen the better part.

First and foremost, disciples are recipients of Jesus Christ’s teaching. His teachings are really teachings concerning his person and his work. He has accomplished our salvation. He has accomplished our redemption. So first, allow the gospel to soak in again.

Then allow the imperatives that arise out of that to be our reasonable service. Instead of trying to live the victorious Christian life, instead of trying to get into God’s favor by following tips and formulas, let’s receive the gospel and then follow the commands of God’s law when it comes to directives. Then our sailboat is perfectly equipped. Now we have the wind in our sails—the gospel—and we also have God’s own wisdom to guide us in that gospel-driven life.

If we understand what Michael Horton is saying in this interview, we will understand why our churches of full of tired Marthas running around on an empty tank in the kitchen, and who will end up in churches that cater for Marys.

For the full interview go to Christ the Center article in online Christianity Today.com.

And read a related article which I posted recently on the indicatives and imperatives of the gospel.

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Gospel, theology and story, Singapore churches Church, Law & Gospel, Preaching, teaching

Teaching and writing

13 August 2009 blogpastor 14 Comments

Jesus writing They say the early manuscripts do not carry this pericope but I am unreservedly captivated by it and more so last Sunday as I meditated on it and was struck by the timely insight that the gifts that God uses in my life were strongly figured and exemplified in Jesus’ ministry in this passage in the gospel of John chapter 8. You know the woman who was caught in adultery and the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought her to Jesus as he was TEACHING, and asked him a trap question, ” What should be done with this woman. The Law stipulates that she should be stoned.” The word “teach” got underlined and highlighted as I notice that all throughout my life I have had a passion and anointing to explain and apply spiritual insights from God’s Word to people’s lives. And I have always had good feedback about the clarity and impact of what I teach. So over the years I have become convinced that this is the Lord’s spiritual gift woven into my life to build up the church.

Jesus not only taught by speaking. In this case, He demonstrated the forgiveness of the Kingdom through action, firstly by stooping down to write. Some said he wrote on the floor the ten commandments, as the Law made the accusers conscious of their sins and they left in shame one by one when Jesus said, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” I am Pentecostal, so I am biased to a Pentecostal twist as to what he wrote. I think he wrote on the ground the specific sins of each of the accusers with great accuracy and the Holy Spirit convicted each one of his sins. Anyway what struck me is that he WROTE. My dad did not encourage me much and tell me what I am good at, but I remember him saying that I can express myself well in writing and so it has been a strength I have been sort of conscious of though I have never intentionally developed it. However four years ago, a step of faith into blogosphere has helped me to see writing on the web as an extension of my ministry, a modern means of communication that surpasses books in its reach and impact, and one that is geared to the new generation of internet savvy young people. I have since begun to see writing as a gift of increased value, and which I need to develop deliberately and deploy faithfully. I am also mindful as I meditate on this passage that the first and only recorded incidence of Jesus writing was combined with his teaching ministry to eradicate shame, fear, and condemnation by a declaration of full and free forgiveness available in Him.

I was blessed by the meditation, as I have been focusing more and more as a leader seeking convergence, so that all my experiences, and training and skills, and my understanding of what God had been doing, and is currently doing in my life, is moving towards the sharp tip of the arrowhead hitting the purpose the Father had painted. Our giftedness and anointing always point to our destiny and purpose of being. I feel focused, enthused and confident.

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Personal and family, Preaching, Writing and blogging teaching, Writing and blogging